8 hours ago
Appeal against 'inadequate' sentence for police officer who tasered 95yo Clare Nowland
A prosecutor has told a hearing in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal a former police officer gave a 95-year-old grandmother "no way" to avoid being tasered.
Kristian White, now 35, was found guilty of manslaughter by a Supreme Court jury last November, and in March was sentenced to a two-year community correction order and 425 hours of community service.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions filed an appeal against the sentence on four grounds, including that it was "manifestly inadequate".
The trial heard White, then a senior constable, had discharged his taser at Clare Nowland inside the Yallambee Lodge aged care facility in Cooma on May 17, 2023.
Mrs Nowland, who was using a four-wheeled walker, fell, hit her head and died in Cooma Hospital a week later.
Director of the Office of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC today argued the sentencing judge erred in ruling White's actions fell at the lower end of objective seriousness.
"This was an extremely unlawful, dangerous act," she said.
Ms Dowling argued the sentence imposed did not properly take into account the victim impact statements made by members of Mrs Nowland's family, or the "broader aspect of harm" on the community.
"That sense of amazement that this could happen in the community, Your Honour, is something I wish to draw [to] your attention," she said.
Ms Dowling told the court police officers were entrusted with dangerous weapons.
"They occupy a trusted role in our community and they must take the utmost care to use those weapons carefully," she said."This case required a sentence that sends a clear message that an unjustified resort to force or violence when other options are available will result in serious criminal punishment."
During the trial, the jury heard White and another police officer responded to a triple-0 call made by Yallambee Lodge staff as the great-grandmother, armed initially with two knives, roamed the facility with her walker, entering other residents' rooms.
She was later found by paramedics and police officers, including White, in a nurses' room at the facility holding one knife.
After an exchange of about three minutes, during which officers tried to convince Mrs Nowland to drop the knife, White said "bugger it" and discharged his taser.
Ms Dowling today told the court that was "clear evidence of his impatience of her".
She said CCTV footage and police body-worn camera vision showed the great-grandmother was "frail" and "plainly incapable of moving very quickly".
The hearing is being presided over by Chief Justice Andrew Bell, Justice Anthony Payne and Justice Natalie Adams.
